"First off, would you like to introduce yourself to anyone who mightn't have
heard of you and is reading this article?"

The name...is Sage Francis. I love my mommy a lot. You are my mommy. I'm kinda fat in a cuddle slut sorta way. My music is probably the best because I like to win.

"Where did your love of hip hop start off from?"

The South Bronx. By the time it reached my ears I was sold. It was all ninjas and hiphop back then. They both kicked ass.

"Do you think that hip hop was a more marginalized genre when you discovered
it? It's way more assimilated into mainstream culture than it was in '87...."

Of course. Hiphop has split into so many sub-genres, which is sad. Nowadays, people like to live in neatly labeled boxes.
"I am battle rapper! I only rap with punchlines and similes!"
"I am jiggy rapper! I only rap about cars and money!"
"I am horrorcore rapper! I only rap about dead bodies and blood!"
"I am artfag rapper! I don't rap at all, but you should like it...unless you're too dumb!"
"I am Sage Francis rapper! I only rap about how girls won't sleep with me!"

"You address your mother on the sleevenotes to @Personal Journals and talk of
her confusion at your love of hip hop... has your obsession and dedication
led to you marginalizing those around you?"

It probably has been alienating. After a while I just stopped updating everyone on my progress as an artist. It felt comfortable to live my music life outside of my family life, because they are definitely seperate. I keep to myself a lot, and my family seems to be the same way. I let loose in my music. I don't know where they let loose but I will ask them come the holidays.

"This goes along with the lyrical content of 'PJ'.... I've seen you talk of
how MC's don't deal with the 'human struggle', whereas you deal with it no holds
barred, and take us to some dark and persoanl places on the record... why do
you reveal so much of yourself on record?"

All I really reveal is the things I think about and consider in life. A few people in my immediate life could hear some of those songs and not know what the hell I am talking about. Others would feel naked by it. It all depends on how you interpret and percieve yourself within art. I tried to reveal things about humans in general. I'm too private of a person to be dispersing detailed info about myself and my situations in this world. Yes, people have died (welcome to life.) Yes, my heart has been broken (welcome to love.)

"How do you decide what's poetry and what's rap. Do you find it hard to
seperate the disciplines?"

Rap is rap. You rap it. It flows with its own particular rhythm and rhyme. Most of all, rap has more of an aggressive attitude. And it's rap. People ask this a lot and I still can't answer it correctly. Damn you. Rap is rap. It's in the attitude and presentation. Of course, all these definitions won't stick in 500 years, but right now I know what rap is. When I break away from the rap conventions and become more "poetic"...some people think it's less hiphop. That makes me happy. It's not hard for me to seperate the disciplines at all. It would be very sad to have one without the other. It helps me keep a balance.

"What would you say to a young MC just starting out?"

I have nothing much to say to young MCs. They aren't trying to hear shit. They need to learn it all for themselves. My best advice is to always stick by the people you trust...and stay away from the magic men.

"You're released the LP on ANticon. Can you sum up what Anticon means to you,
what they stand for or represent for you?"

Anticon is a collective of people I am friends with. Sole is the head honkey in charge. We are both from New England. A few years ago, people were grouping us together, even though we weren't crew like that. It's just...my material seemed to fit inside of the niche they were carving for themselves. I liked what I saw coming out of that camp so when they offered to put out my album I gladly accepted.

"WIth the 'PJ' LP, it was your first chance to get out to a wider audience.
How did you pick the material for the LP, lyrically speaking and production
wise?"

Well, considering this was going to be my first legitimate release, I wanted the subject matter to properly reflect who I was. It was a very important album to me, just because it's the sort of album I had been waiting to make for many, many years. Anticon's granted me that opportunity. As for production, a lot of the producers affiliated with Anticon submitted material to me and picked out the tracks that fit the mood of the material. It is intentionally dark, murky, crunchy and dirty...with moments of clarity and pristine beauty to make it all the more real. Typical boom-bap production would not have worked for this particular album, although it has its place here and there. I just needed the beatscape to be more emotional and unstable. If that makes any sense.

"What is it about a beat or loop that makes u want to rap over it?"

The catchiness of it. If it is good enough for me to hear over and over again, I become inspired to layer myself ontop of it.

"With the closer 'Runaways', it seems you're addressing a lot of heartaches,
accepting them and trying to move on, like a wistful 'movin' on' kind of
song. Tell me about that track and the feelings it tries to convey."

Well, there are a few themes in that song. Instead of moving on, one might say I'm moving back. One might say I am retreating. The point is...you aren't going to find me in the world you are familliar with...because I really don't think you're going to be able to point me out in a line-up. It was an important point for me to make on the last song of the album.

"Lastly, tell us what will be going down at the live show and any future
plans, ie a new 'Still' CD, or a new record with your band."

I have been performing for a LOOOOOoong time, so I incorporate a lot of entertaining elements into my live show. None of them are all that typical though. I have my own brand of entertainment, which is what has kept me touring for so long. I'm not gonna' ask you to say "Hoooooo!" You will see me make a mess of the stage. You will hear a mix of rap, spoken word, freestyles, and random comments on the night at hand. I have a new album in the works with my group, the Non-Prophets, called HOPE. The Makeshift Patriot EP is coming out in a couple months on vinyl only. I have a song on the next Lex Records 12" called "Garden Gnomes." I am featured on an album with Buck 65 and DJ Signify called "No More Sleep" which will come out in a few months. I will eventually put out an album with a live band, but that won't be for a couple years. There are other things in the works, but I'd rather get them finished than talk about them.

Fri Nov 15, 2002 12:25 pm

capitaL.

Joined: 15 Nov 2002
Posts: 2

Quote: "I am battle rapper! I only rap with punchlines and similes!"
"I am jiggy rapper! I only rap about cars and money!"
"I am horrorcore rapper! I only rap about dead bodies and blood!"
"I am artfag rapper! I don't rap at all, but you should like it...unless you're too dumb!"

thats good simplified way to look at. lol

Fri Nov 15, 2002 1:34 pm

Jesus Frank

Joined: 12 Jul 2002
Posts: 2319
Location: Stockholm, Sweden

Re: interview with a Dublin publication 11/14/02

Sage Francis wrote: My music is probably the best because I like to win.

Representing Ill Mitch, eh? Didn't he have a song called "I will win" or something like that? Hilarious.

Wed Nov 27, 2002 9:24 am

ianmcd

Joined: 18 Mar 2003
Posts: 7
Location: Dublin!

I cant believe i missed the show in Dublin :x

Wed Mar 19, 2003 10:17 am

JmantheBalla

Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 37
Location: littleton colorado

Re: interview with a Dublin publication 11/14/02

[Of course. Hiphop has split into so many sub-genres, which is sad. Nowadays, people like to live in neatly labeled boxes.
"I am battle rapper! I only rap with punchlines and similes!"
"I am jiggy rapper! I only rap about cars and money!"
"I am horrorcore rapper! I only rap about dead bodies and blood!"
"I am artfag rapper! I don't rap at all, but you should like it...unless you're too dumb!"